Pier fishermen and fishermen who troll with rods and reels have devised a number of rod holders which are to hold the rod until the fish strikes the bait or lure. The simplest of these consists of a loop into which the butt of a rod is inserted in combination with a y-shaped brace into which the rod is laid. More complicated fishing rod holders use a variety of openable clamps which open when force is applied in a direction perpendicular to the rod butt yet resist opening when force is applied at the rod tip. Unfortunately, most of the known devices either do not allow the rod to be readily removed or else allow the rod to be too easily removed such that the rod is displaced from the holder before the fisherman can react. Another problem, frequently encountered while trolling, is the tendency of the rod to rebound responsive to encountering a temporary snag on the bottom. When the rod rebounds, it applies the same force as is required to open the clamp type rod holders. Consequently, numerous rod and reel combinations have been lost overboard from prior rod and reel holders due to fish or bottom action and many fish have been lost because the rod was not readily retractable.